This week was amazing! One of the ladies, Alta, we have been teaching was baptized and confirmed! She is 80 but full of energy and she loves the gospel and the Book of Mormon. When she studies and reads The Book of Mormon she looks up all the cross references and says that "It really brings it out" She loves The Book of Mormon and we were so excited that she is now a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. We have Stake Conference next week so yesterday was fast and testimony meeting and lots of the little kids got up and bore their testimonies and they were so sweet. Alta got up and bore her testimony and it was great. A little more lively and intense then what the branch members might be used to but I think she will really liven up the branch and be able to share her amazing faith with the people here. Also another man we have been teaching for several months came to church!!! And he brought his friend, we were soooo excited!!! Also a lady we started teaching a few weeks ago came to church for the second time in a row. It was a wonderful day, a day that makes all the other seemingly pointless tracting days all worth it. All the frustration and rejection is worth it when I see that people are changing and coming closer to Christ and learning more of Him and His gospel.
This week my testimony of fasting has been strengthened a lot, especially fasting with a purpose. I learned so much from fasting and I feel like the Lord was able to give me many blessings that he wouldn't have been able to give me if I hadn't. From Saturday evening all throughout Sunday I had such an overwhelming feeling of gratitude. I am so grateful to the Lord for all the wonderful things he has put in my path and all the wonderful experiences I have had. I know that one of the keys to happiness is gratitude. I am so grateful for President Monson's talk on gratitude in the last General Conference. Gratitude has been on my mind ever since then and in the last few days I have really seen the happiness that comes from gratitude. The other blessing I received from fasting this week is the feeling of self-control. As I sat Saturday night writing in my journal and really hungry I felt such a peace in knowing that I had control over myself. One of the reasons for us to be on this earth is for our Spirits to be in control of our bodies, the spiritual over the carnal, and I felt that this weekend. I know that through the Lord and His Atonement I can overcome myself and the “natural man.”
Last Monday I had an awesome adventure on P-day. Some members took us to "Alabaster Caverns" and we were able to tour underground caves and see lots of cool bats. It was lots of fun, and I just love driving over the wide open plains and being able to see the sky.
So pictures:
1. Sister Maude and I didn't want to take down our little Christmas tree, so we turned it into a Valentine's Day tree. I really like having it up, and if my next companion doesn't think I'm crazy I might have an Easter tree too.
2. Teaching a recent convert and their cat wanted to read the scriptures too. We we're just trying to "preach the gospel unto every creature"
3. Sister Maude, Alta, and me after she was baptized.
4. Cave stuff
5. More cave stuff
6. Me at the cave enterance
7. Bats! (they were in a tupor, i.e. halfway between sleep and hibernating)
8. Us on the way back from the cave
9. Me at "Boiling Springs" in JEANS!!! :)
Well that's all for now folks!
~Sister Lila Jenson
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